Ahead of the June 13 inauguration of the leadership of the 10th National Assembly, a source has accused the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, of misinforming President Bola Tinubu on the actual situation of things.
OsunDaily News reports that Tinubu had met behind closed doors with the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, and Femi Gbajabiamila.
Though details of the meeting were not disclosed, it was gathered that the President was given the actual situation of the crisis rocking the zoning formula by the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Recall that the APC had zoned the Senate Presidency to the South-South, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speakership of the House of Representatives to the North-West, Tajudeen Abbas. The party also zoned the Deputy Senate Presidency to the North-West, Barau Jibrin, and Deputy Speakership to the South-East, Benjamin Kalu.
Speaking to Vanguard, the source said Tinubu’s meeting with the National Assembly leadership was an eye-opener as the Senate President “politely told the president that there is fire on the mountain.”
The source said: “Things are beginning to unfold gradually, but unfortunately, it appears things are getting altered to contain because even the meeting that the president held with the Senate President and the speaker was an eye opener to Mr. President.
“It was today (yesterday) at the meeting the president got to know that he was either misinformed or distorted pieces of information were handed to him in respect of the National Assembly leadership.
“If you observe, the Speaker is using the same method to mislead the president and twist the situation around him. The same way he sent out the endorsement of Akpabio and Abbass even before the president made up his mind.
“He has flown another flier to test the waters so that the president will be boxed to another corner.
“It is cheering that the Senate President boldly but politely told the president that there is fire on the mountain. He gave the man the real situation of things and even protested that he was excluded when the Speaker was putting permutations together in respect of the National Assembly leadership of which he is chairman.
“The Senate President was very truthful with the president that if things are allowed to go on the way they are, two dangerous scenarios await the APC. He said it is either APC loses the speakership to the opposition PDP if two APC aspirants run for speakership or the north corners both the speakership and senate presidency.
“So, all indications point to the fact that the issue of leadership scout for 10th assembly was largely mismanaged by the speaker and his so-called trusted allies in the 9th assembly.”
